Yesterday, a group of people organized by the Beat Bike Blog helped to clean up the water and area alongside it as part of the Source to Sea Cleanup. The source of the Connecticut River is Pittsburg, New Hampshire, a town with a population of 862. What begins in pristine wilderness winds up carrying a considerable amount of debris by the time it reaches Hartford, nevermind the Sound. Many trash bags were filled, as were two of the large recycling bins, which were biked out so that their contents could be properly disposed of.
Want to see some of the more interesting finds?
(apologies for blurring out a few things in these photos)
EmGee
The recycling bins were biked out. Awesome.
Kerri
’twas a sight to behold.
Jonathan Barr
On my last trip to the Park River before leaving Connecticut I arrived to find a thick layer of gasoline on the water. Walking upstream I was unable to find its source, but there seemed to be no end to flow. I reported the apparent spill to the DEP and the local fire department, despite being reprimanded for my presence there.
So much buried underground becomes quickly forgotten. I won’t soon forget coming out of the Park River’s darkness one day and seeing nesting ducks, a painted turtle, fish, and even a frog. On that last trip the gasoline smell was so strong I could not go further than fifty feet into the tunnels without choking.